Termite Colony Caste System

Termites typically live in colonies comprised of different castes. The various different castes are as follows: soldier, worker, royalty or reproductives. Each has a role it must fulfill to ensure the health of the colony. Here’s a little bit of information about those specific roles.

Soldier and Worker Termites

Soldier termites are responsible for the protection of their colony. They use their enlarged mandibles to defend their colonies against predators and other threats such as ants and other termite colonies. When the colony is assaulted the soldier termites sacrifice themselves by remaining outside the infiltrated colony while worker termites repair any damage. But because they mandibles are so enlarged, the soldier termite is incapable of feeding itself. Worker termites are pale in color and are blind and their responsibility is to feed other termite castes.

Queen Termites

The termite queen is responsible for increasing the population of the colony. The mating swarm is comprised of male and female reproductives from already established termite colonies. These reproductive termites have wings, allowing them to move away from the established colony. Many species’ reproductives are dark in color. The swarmers land and shed their wings after the mating process. While reproductive termites look very similar to winged ants, both males and female reproductive termites survive beyond the mating swarm, whereas male winged ants die after the mating process. The male and female reproductive termites go on to found colonies, becoming kings and queens of their new colonies.